Sock Summit 2011 Day 2: July 29, 2011 – Class & Consumption

Poor Jess.  She was still on her “home time” (2 hours ahead) and I kept her up late talking about yarn and life and me me me.  For a shy person I can sure talk about myself too much.  Sheesh.  She still got up before me and I expected to hear her getting ready for her 9AM class, but instead she left the room.  Gulp.  Was I so annoying that she had to leave?  Did I snore all night?  I worry about this stuff.  But no, apparently she was up early due to that time difference thing and, polite as she is, she actually did some work (that’s a four letter word, yo!) in the lobby before coming back to get ready for class so as not to disturb me.  Too sweet.  I was up by then working on my homework for my Saturday afternoon Cookie A. class and it was still only about 7:30 AM.  I thought I’d find the time to sleep in once or twice while away, but apparently I’ve got my internal alarm clock set to Knittymunchkin time and it doesn’t reset no matter how many miles away I get.
 
Jess and I met Troy in the lobby and it was just a mere half hour before Jess’ first class.  We’d talked about walking to Voodoo Doughnuts which we thought had to be fairly close due to the frequent passing by of that most glorious of pink boxes containing warm frosted doughnutty deliciousness (or so we presumed, but we’d be schooled later).  But with Jess’ class imminent, we just decided to go to Burgerville again.  As if it wasn’t enough to have an eco-conscious burger joint nearby, it had to be one that served breakfast too.  I have to say, I’m impressed with the place!
 
Jess headed for class and Troy and I headed for the marketplace.  “Let’s just look around” turned into “Whoopee! Let’s go nuts and buy some YARN!”  At least for me.  We were very curious about the big fuss over Goth Socks.  Word on the street was that her stuff was one of the major draws for the massive line snaking around the convention center the night before.  Turns out, I think those rumors were right.  We headed to her booth first and I asked her about her stock.  Apparently they sold out between the night before and this morning.  As in everything that she brought was gone except for two measly little hanks of self-striping sock yarn.  Wowzers.  I ended up buying a super cute project bag there with bees on it (Oh how I ♥ bumblebees!) mainly because, after engaging her in conversation and then planning on walking away empty-handed, I felt kinda bad about wasting her time and figured the least I could do would be to buy something.  I am such a sucker.  But hey, I’ll use it.  It’s already holding my little sock yarn scraps and all my tools to make The Beekeeper’s Quilt.  So appropriate :)  I heard a lot of talk about The Sanguine Gryphon and The Plucky Knitter being big draws too, and if you gauged that by the sheer amount of people pressed into each booth, not to mention the rapidly disappearing stock, then I’d say it was true.  It’s kind of fun wondering who or what the next best thing will be.  Personally, I was really interested in Stricken Smitten and Sophie’s Toes and expect to hear more of a fuss about these dyers soon.
 

Ms. Newton And Her Friend

 
My first class of the summit was today at 11AM.  It was a one-hour lecture about dyeing yarn with Blue Moon Fiber Arts’ Tina Newton (also one of the co-creators of Sock Summit along with Stephanie Pearl-McPhee a.k.a Yarn Harlot).  It was entertaining and enlightening, though without prior dyeing experience, I don’t think I came away with much useful information.  I did feel inspired but also a little dejected.  That part of me that thought it might be a wonderful idea to start dyeing yarn and maybe someday doing something with the yarn I dye, like, oh maybe getting paid for it, has apparently been high on yarn fumes all this time.  Dyeing is hard work.  And it’s time consuming, and you have to love it.  Not to mention, you have to be good at it or people won’t buy it.  It’s o.k. to have dreams, but I suppose they have to be achievable.  Maybe we’ll just sleep on this one for a while.
 
After the lecture I didn’t have enough time to go back to the hotel so I went on a huge shopping binge in the marketplace.  With no witnesses to stay my hand I powered my way through the booths in a shocking flurry of cash and credit.  And I won’t lie.  It felt good.  It takes a lot of energy to blow through so much money at once, so I needed to refuel before my 1:30 PM class and bought a sandwich at the little lunch counter inside the convention center.  It took forever so I wouldn’t recommend it unless you are in dire need like I was.  Sandwich finally in hand, I headed for my next 3 hour class: Judy’s Magic Heels.
 
This class was a revelation. Seriously, I shit you not.  A flap heel without picking up any stitches or working any short rows.  Sheer genius!  Well sheer magic, really.  Judy was an excellent teacher. Friendly, knowledgeable, approachable and patient.  I highly recommend her class should you ever have the chance at another Sock Summit.  I, for one, will be most definitely trying these heels on the next pair of socks I start.
 
Troy met me in the conference room as class ended. He’d had a class himself during the same time frame, in a room just adjacent. We went back to the marketplace and texted Jess back and forth until we caught up with her.  We all had tickets to the Sock Hop which would be later in the evening, and decided that maybe we needed to have a little dinner first and that perhaps it was time to explore a bit further afield.  What would follow would be an epic struggle to find sustenance in a mysterious concrete labyrinth filled with sketchy-looking locals, firearms dealers, and forlorn shopfronts.
 
O.K.  I’m kidding.  Well, a little.  I believe Jess actually referred to it as “The Death March”.  We were most certainly not prepared for the trek we ended up having to take.  Guess we took a wrong turn at Albuquerque and got ourselves all turned around somehow.  I don’t know about Jess but personally, as a woman, I get nervous walking around places I’m not familiar with.  Especially as the more populated areas drop away and you find yourself in something industrial or when you see a sign that is clearly advertising pawn items and firearms.  Not to mention, when you are clearly not dressed for hoofing it, are carrying a knitting bag the size of Texas, and look really scared.  Which I was trying not to do.  Thanks to Jess’ map function on her smartphone, we finally managed to get turned around and happened onto the restaurant she had enjoyed the night before we arrived: The Farm Cafe.  It couldn’t have materialized at a better time.  We were hot, tired, and ready to end our journey.  I felt badly that Jess would be eating here a second time, but she seemed enthusiastic about the food and probably more than ready to eat too.  We all had pretty much the same thing.  Green Salad (two orders were enough to share between the three of us) and Goat Cheese Ravioli.  It was well worth the journey and the wait.  This was one of the most delicious meals I have ever had in my life.  And from the “mmm’s” and general hush at the table, I think Troy and Jess concurred.
 

The Farm Cafe's Goat Cheese Ravioli

 
Perhaps it was the company, or all the energy I burned learning, knitting, shopping, and walking today, but I actually suggested ordering dessert.  I never do this.  But it felt good to linger in Troy and Jess’ company and having something sweet is almost always one of life’s biggest priorities (in my book).  So we each ordered something different and then shared tastes around the table.  Jess ordered the Sunken Chocolate Souffle, Troy ordered the Marscapone Cheesecake with Pecans and Dulce De Leche Sauce, and I ordered a seasonal Rhubarb Crisp.  Heavenly.  All of it!  I savored each bite and the simple joy of being among friends sharing a meal and conversation.
 
Tonight’s final event was the Sock Hop.  It was already in full swing when we dropped in after the much shorter walk (going the correct direction this time) back from the restaurant.  None of us had costumes, though to give Troy and Jess credit, I believe they had each brought something.  Yet again we realized we’d paid for hors d’ oeuvres included in the price of our tickets.  But I don’t think a single one of us would take back our meal at The Farm Cafe to eat deli meats and crackers and cheese, no matter how nice those snacks probably were.  After a few minutes we decided to ditch the party and go back to the lobby of our hotel for some knitting and drinks.  None of us had spent much time knitting yet and it sounded much more appealing at the moment than checking out everyone else’s costumes at the hop, no matter how fun and nostalgic the music was.
 
We stayed up late, knitting, drinking and just hanging out.  It was a wonderful end to a jam packed day!

 

Growing

Though I woke to a blanket of snow the morning before yesterday, I sense the quickening of spring in the air around me.  I hear it in the song of birds returned, smell it on the softening breeze, and feel it in the sun upon my face.  The time for growth is soon at hand.
 
Knittymunchkin has most certainly felt it too.  He is walking like a professional and exploring his world from the moment he wakes, until the last minutes of the day, snuggled in my arms before bedtime.  He has learned his first word (“Mama”) and I think my heart might explode every time I hear him say it.
 

My sweet little man!

 
Renewed interest in my garden has swelled up from somewhere deep inside of me.  After an entire season of neglect, I have a lot of work ahead of me to get things back in order.  R. Darling insisted on buying me the composter I kept looking at, and keeps encouraging me to give it a try as I waffle over whether it was a good decision or not.  Growing up with a mother who composted the “cheap” way, I got a little grossed out by the piles of food waste that littered the yard in various locations throughout the years.  Though I couldn’t deny my mom knew what she was doing, I always felt there must be a better, i.e. cleaner, way to do the whole thing.  Lucky for me, composting is back in vogue and there are lots of options.  Perhaps next year we’ll put in the raised beds for vegetables that I’ve been wanting for a while and with a little work maybe the dahlias I’ve been craving too.  But for now, I’ve started some zinnia and poppy seeds in my upstairs bathroom window and I can’t wait to see them blooming this summer.
 

Birth of a zinnia

 
Perhaps you’ve noticed the array of socks being added to my Ravelry queue lately.  Maybe it was finally finishing my Jaywalkers, the fact that I’ll be attending Sock Summit 2011 this summer (are you going too? let me know!), or the fact that I still have 15 lbs. to lose and just cannot justify knitting a sweater for a weight I don’t want to be, but whatever it is, I have sock fever!  Good thing I’ve got a stash that’s fit to burst with fingering yarns.  I’m thinking a pair of Leyburn socks in Hazel Knits’ Cami Chic or perhaps the it’s time to jump on the Monkey Sock bandwagon.
 

Hazel Knits Artisan Sock in "Cami Chic"

 
I decided it is also about time I take the leap into the unknown and put some effort into a dream I’ve had for many years now.  I’m going to start with something small and manageable and enter this writing contest.  I am, of course, fraught with fears.  What if no one wants to hear my life story?  Do I have a life story worth sharing?  What do I write about?  What if I suck?  What if I don’t win?  But worse:  what if I never even try?  I feel the opportunities to achieve what I want in my life becoming fewer and fewer as the years pass me by.  As Yoda would say, “Do or do not.  There is no try.”
 
So you see, I’m growing too.

 

Cursed Be Those Who Jaywalk In Stinky Love Socks

Arrrrrrrrrrrrr!  I feel like I should write the rest of this post in Pirate Speak.
 
The Jaywalker curse is over!  Man, it feels like I’ve been working on these stupid socks for forevah.  These have traveled with me to Vegas (twice, I think) and to my babymoon on Maui.  And they just never seemed to get finished no matter how hard I tried.  After their first visit to Vegas, I finished 3/4 of the first sock, only to find that it wouldn’t fit over my giant-ass foot.  It took a while (over a year) for me to suck it up and rip out round after round of those teeny tiny stitches that I had slaved over toothpick-sized needles to produce.  And after that, it took me even longer (another year) to work up the courage to cast on again.  My gauge was off the first time, and many more times, before I figured out the ideal combination of sizing and attractiveness.  I noticed that the yarn I used (Knitterly Things Vesper Sock) looks more pleasing when knit on a smaller needle, so I had to knit a larger size than I normally would to get it to fit right.  On this second go-round I also decided to knit my socks using Magic Loop and it definitely went faster once I got all the gauge bugs ironed out.  Now that I’ve learned Magic Loop, I’m a bit of a Magic Loop snob and fairly grit my teeth if I actually have to bust out dpn’s for anything.
 

 
This is my very first finished pair of socks made from Knitterly Things Vesper Sock Yarn.  See, up there I let you in on a little secret with that link.  Shhhhh….. don’t tell everyone!  Her stuff has already gotten harder to get now that she’s been featured in some of the big knitting magazines.  She does really small updates maybe once a week, just a couple hanks of a couple of her signature colors, and a sock club.  Lucky for me, I managed to collect most of the colors I wanted before I quit my paying job to become Chief Procurer/Entertainer/Cook/Laundress for the Overlord Of Cute (Knittymunchkin).  I did keep up with the yarn club though, so my collection is still growing.
 
Glamour Magazine has been telling me for over a year now that it’s cool to wear socks with your heels.  Since my fancy shoes never see the light of day anymore (not that they had much of a snowball’s chance in hell of seeing it before Knittymunchkin either) I busted them out for my photo shoot.  I couldn’t rock the socks and heels look in real life, but I rocked it even less when taking these photos.  You should have seen me stumping around the house with my sweatpants rolled up and my fancy shoes and socks on, trying to balance the mirror just so, in order to get that one decent shot.  I know, I should probably try to maintain my aura of mystery and tell you I photographed this in some glitzy cafe whilst twirling my glossy hair around my finger, sipping coffee and looking glamorous, but hey, I haz to keep it real, yo.
 
So, ta da!  Finally we bid adieu to another achingly ancient UFO….
 

 

• Pattern: Jaywalker by Grumperina  (Ravelry link here; My Ravelry project link here)
• Yarn:  Approximately 442 yds of Knitterly Things Vesper Sock Yarn in “Love Stinks (Yeah, Yeah)”
• Needles:  40 inch Size 1 Knit Picks Harmony circulars
• Mods:  None, except to work pattern using Magic Loop instead of dpn’s

 
OMG.  SO loving these socks!  I got all OCD and made sure the striping matched up when starting the second sock.  This required me to rip out my knitting several times and actually rewind the ball of yarn in the opposite direction.  But it was worth it because they are a perfect match.  The fit of these socks is amazing.  It really is a “snug droop-less” fit like she says.  The only thing I wasn’t super happy about was the toe.  I mean it looks fine and everything, but it feels a little uncomfortable.  Kind of binding for me.  Maybe something a little more rounded would feel better?  Something to consider for next time.  I think I might actually make another pair someday.  Be sure to look for that post sometime in 2015 ;)

 

Fess Up

Gah.  I caved.  I bought yarn.  Twice.  I should have known I couldn’t make it longer than 5 months.
 
But listen.  It’s not all bad.  I can defend myself a bitty bit here.  This is how it is:  I have 2 hanks of SWTC Vicki Howell Collection Love in “Jack & Sally” in my stash that has been there for over a year.  More silvery than grey, it has a gorgeous sheen and lovely hand.  The second it arrived I fell in love with it and I promised myself I’d buy more so that I could make myself something other than just a scarf with it.  Flash forward a year or more and I still haven’t kept that promise to myself.  So when I saw that DBNY had only 8 hanks left and it has supposedly been discontinued, I treated myself.  Besides, it was way on sale.  Like way on sale.  Originally $13/hank, I got it for $4/hank, so I was only out around $40 after shipping.  Not too bad in terms of falling off the wagon.
 

SWTC Vicki Howell Collection Love Yarn in "Jack & Sally"

 
And then there’s one more purchase that is waiting in my WEBS cart for my itchy little finger to push “Confirm”.  This one is a whopping $23.67.  A long time ago, when there was cash aplenty in my checking account, long before Little Mister, I purchased 5 balls of Noro Silk Garden in color #292.  I was drawn to the colorway, despite the colors not being my normal thang.  I think I thought I’d make a Clapotis or something, but it’s still in my stash untouched.  Then I saw the Equinox Raglan in the Winter/Spring 2010 issue of Knitscene and I knew what I wanted to make with it.  Sadly, I needed 2-3 more balls of yarn to make it and being the good girl that I am, I checked on Ravelry first for destashers.  Nuttin.  And the color is discontinued.  Luckily, WEBS has it and it’s even on sale, so I made sure it was o.k. with hubby and put three of those bad boys into my shopping cart.
 

Noro Silk Garden #292

 
But if all this talk of spending has got you thinkin you need new yarn, I’ve got something for you that will make you feel good even if you do end up overfilling your cart.  Knit Picks has 12 free sock patterns on their site!  I was looking over my newest IK issue once again and noticed the fine print on the bottom of the Knit Picks ad.  Since I would have missed it completely if I wasn’t just spacing out and happened to see it, I thought I’d share it with all of you who either missed it too or just plain don’t get IK.  So go here and get your 12 free sockses patterns (just click on each small sock image and it will take you to a pdf  you can print or save).  Enjoy!!

 

Farewell To Warms

29 weeks 3 days!

 
Hard to believe that Christmas is over already.  It went so quickly and I never felt I got the chance to really enjoy it.  Could be that my cold from hell is still getting me down (come on Booger King – you’ve been in there well over a week already, it’s time to clear out dammit), or that R. Darling had to work Christmas Eve so it felt like just any other day, or maybe I’m just feeling a teeny bit sad knowing that this is our very last Christmas with just the two of us and we really didn’t do much to make it seem special.  Or maybe it’s those pregnancy hormones (get a load of that belly up there!)?  Whatever the reason, I’m feeling a little bittersweet over this holiday.  So maybe I’ll stretch it out just a little bit longer, watch my favorite movies one more time and bake that Christmas cake I never got around to.  It’s still December for another few days….
 
This December also marks the end of another aspect of my knitting life that I’ve been working on nearly as long as I’ve been knitting.  Warm Woolies has officially shut its doors as of December 24, 2009 and will no longer be operating or receiving donations any longer.  As most of you know, I’ve  been contributing to Warm Woolies for quite some time now, and I truly believe in the great work that they do.  It’s been a pleasure to knit for them, knowing that one garment at a time, a whole army of knitters has been able to keep children here and abroad just a bit warmer each winter.  Though I understand that good things don’t always last, I am sad that this wonderful charity won’t be able to operate anymore.   Unfortunately, I didn’t make my goal this year of contributing to their 10 for 10 challenge (knit 10 items for children ages 10 and over) since morning sickness completely derailed my knitting efforts for close to 5 months, but on December 18 I did send off a final batch of 3 pairs of socks, 2 vests, 1 sweater (sized for approximately 6 years old), and 2 sweaters (sized 10 years old and up).  It felt good to mail off that last set of items, even if a little melancholic too, knowing that it’s the last time I’ll be doing it.  I wish all of the people from Warm Woolies the best of luck wherever they head after this endeavor!
 
And so, my final 2 projects for Warm Woolies (and probably for 2009):
 

Comfy Socks

 

• Pattern:  Comfy Socks from Knitscene (Ravelry link here, My Ravelry project link here)
• Yarn: Twilleys of Stamford Freedom 100% Wool; Color #408; 3 balls
• Needles:  Size 10.5 dpns

 
This pattern was super simple and instantly gratifying (super bulky wool + big needles = turbo knit).  I actually loved these so much I considered keeping them for myself, but that kinda defeats the purpose of charitable knitting ;)  Good thing I have more of this yarn left (thanks Troy!) so I could make myself a pair if I really felt like it.
 

July Mystery Sweater for Warm Woolies

 

• Pattern: Mystery Sweater KAL for the Warm Woolies (now Wool-Aid) group on Ravelry; for the pattern, you’ll have to look through the archives for the July Mystery Sweater at the group and collect all the “clues” (My Ravelry project link here)
• Yarn: KnitPicks Wool of the Andes Bulky; Color “Scuba” #I141; 6 hanks (?)
• Needles: Size 10.5 circular

 
This was such a wonderful pattern!  While I was knitting the neckline I was absolutely confused as to how what I was doing would produce something like the photos I’d seen, but it turned out beautifully.  I opted for the “easy” version of the sleeves as I was sort of down to the wire finishing this on time, but I still think they turned out nice looking.  I won the yarn for the sweater in a contest on the Warm Woolies Group back in July and knitted faithfully along with each clue up until about clue #4, at which time I started incubating a bun in my oven and was so sick I could hardly stand to look at yarn for the next 5 months.  But when I found out Warm Woolies would be closing up shop and wouldn’t be accepting items past December 24th this year, I knew I had to get on it to finish this.  Not only for the little one who will be kept warm in it, but also out of obligation to the pattern designer and her generous gift of yarn to me.
 
So farewell Warm Woolies!  I will certainly miss you.
 
As for Christmas, I’ll miss you too.  I dearly hope that each and every one of you had a wonderful holiday and got to celebrate each moment to its fullest!!
 
And now, I think I heard someone say cake?

 

Has It Sprung?

That would probably be a big fat “yeah freakin’ right” considering there was leftover snow on the ground Monday morning.  But a girl can wish anyway.  Hopefully it’s sprung where you are!
 
Thanks so much to each and every single one of you who spared a moment for a positive thought or prayer (whichever your weapon of choice may be against all the big boogie men in the world) for my Dad on Monday.  He did pretty well and made it through the surgery without any major complications.  He survived the cut through his sternum, the terrifying spreading open of his ribcage, the stopping of his heart and the moment they attached it to a bypass machine.  He made it through the removal of his old calcified aortic valve that had served  him for 65 years, and the replacement with a shiny new titanium valve that will probably outlast his human body for years to come (I think now I should start calling him The Terminator – he deserves it).  I was there with him that night as he shuddered against the intubation tubes in his throat and the pain in the tube draining his chest, and I held his hand while they prepared to take him off the ventilator and I could see just how terrified he was.  It took everything I had not to cry, because I knew if I lost it, he’d lose it too.  But he made it through that too and I stayed with him until I was sure his breathing would take him through the night.  It was a long day but it was worth it when I think about how my Dad will now be able to do those things he hasn’t been able to do in so many years if recovery goes well.  Doesn’t science kick ass? 
 
Unfortunately, things have gone from stable to worse, and he’s still in the ICU as of today and had a major “episode” yesterday morning.  They are going to keep him sedated for the next few days as they try to get his kidneys and lungs to recover from the trauma.  I won’t be around much but I wanted to tell all of you that I am so truly thankful to each and every one of you for your kind words and thoughts for us on Monday.  It meant more to me than I can tell you.
 
With all that waiting room time, while my Mom paced and R. Darling read, I knitted.  And finally, I have my first Personal Sock Club 2009 FO, looking like the briefest hint of spring, to present to you:
 

 

 

Pattern: Plain Vanilla Socks by Keri McKiernan (on Ravelry here)

Yarn: 2 balls of Schachenmayr nomotta Regia Design Line Kaffe Fassett in color #04450 – “Easter”

Needles: Size 1.5 (2.5mm) Knit Picks Harmony 40″ fixed circular for Magic Loop

Mods: None really except this pattern is made to fit custom, so I did my own thing getting it to fit my measurements.

New Techniques: Nope.

Time Lapse: February 20, 2009 – March 16, 2009

Comments: I love these socks and I love the colors.  It was a bit of a surprise that these weren’t just plain old stripes popping up in my yarn, but I probably should have expected that Kaffe Fassett would design something with a little watercolor action in there.  Though there’s nothing fancy about this pattern, sometimes it’s the perfect thing to work on a project that’s no nonsense when everything else in your life seems to be chaotic.  I’m not overly fond of the heel, maybe I’m just a short row heel kinda gal, but it works and it was easy to do.  There’s something about the decreases in the toe that just don’t fit my particular foot right either, maybe something squarish would work better or if I worked the toe longer before decreasing and then just decreased to 16 stitches instead of 8 before grafting the end shut.  Either way, that’s not a pattern problem, just a need for a few tweaks to fit my weird ass feet a little better.  The yarn was pretty nice though I don’t recommend frogging it much.  It kind of winds around itself and knots up if you do.  But I think they’ll wear like iron and that’s a good deal. I fully intended that these socks wouldn’t match because who the hell wants to dig through your ball of yarn trying to find the perfect starting point just so they’ll be perfect (no offense if that’s your thang though)? But somehow I’d already managed to pull out enough yarn in my first abortive attempt to knit these two-at-a-time to have that perfect end just hanging out already waiting to go. They’re just the wee-est bit off but probably no one would know that except for me. Coolz. I guess things just work out sometimes.
 

 

Sorry, no fancy outtakes again this time.  Maybe socks just don’t invite goofy outtakes for me or maybe I’m just worn out.  Probably a little bit of both.  Anyway, I hope you’re all doing well.  I don’t know when I’ll be back around here and don’t expect to be online much as my brain just can’t handle the overload right now and I’m doing a lot of quiet things like reading and knitting to relax.  But if you see me faving things on Ravelry, please don’t judge me – the pretty pretty patterns relax me too :)  Thanks so much again to all of you for your kind messages and thoughts for my Dad.  I really and truly appreciate each and every kindness and each and every one of you.  It’s been a hard week for me, and it may get harder, but knowing you’re all out there makes it just a little bit easier :) Have a great weekend!

 

Sockses & Sock Clubs & Such

Personal Sock Club 2009!

 

OMG.  I had myself so much freakin’ fun setting up my Personal Sock Club for the Stash Knit Down 2009 (which I mentioned joining here in case you missed it).  Inside each mysterious pink bag is a pretty pretty yarn and a pattern from my queue on Ravelry that I’ve been wanting to knit.  Since I also joined the Queue Down, this will help me accomplish two things at once.  Bonus. 

The patterns I will be choosing from are (sorry non-ravelry peeps, but these will all be ravelry linkies):

 * Snicket Socks

* Azure Socks

* Plain Vanilla Socks

* Nutkin

* Ziggy

* Jaywalkers (also a UFO that needs work – extra bonus!)

 

I’m so freakin’ excited to open up my first package in January!  It’s kind of disgusting really.  Oh and just in case you might be thinking I own an awful lot of snooty, uncomfortable, underroos (what with the plethora of Victoria’s Secret bags I’ve got goin’ on up there) you can rest assured that my underroos are just about as un-snooty as can be.  Not that there’s anything wrong with wearing fancy pants every day, especially if you have the body to do so.  I just happen to dig hard core on those pink bags they give out and save ’em up any time I get one.  I knew they’d be useful someday!

Speaking of sock clubs, real socks clubs, my good bloggy pal Wendee of Hazel Knits (blog here, etsy shop here) is planning on a 2009 yarn club herself!  You can read more details here on Ravelry.  If you haven’t tried Hazel Knits sock yarn yet, you absolutely MUST.  It is the most gorgeous, sproingy, beautiful stuff you will ever encounter and Wendee has a fabulous eye for color.  Though I have clearly said 2009 will be a knit from stash kinda year, I will most definitely be finding myself some kind of loophole to make it o.k. to join the Hazel Knits’ Sock club in 2009.   Just sayin’.  Check it out – I loves to enable ;)

Well, we’ve been hit by an arctic blast of sorts so the snow is falling all around.  I’m trying to enjoy it, but it’s so nervewracking to try to make it to work every day.  I hate that aspect of it.  I might get a snow day tomorrow though.  Keep your fingers crossed!  Hope all of you are staying warm and cozy! 

 

Let’s Talk About Stash

Let’s talk about stash bay-bee,

Let’s talk about yarn for “free”,

Let’s talk about all the good things and the bad things that may be,

Let’s talk ab-out stash. Let’s talk about stash!*

*Sing to the tune of Salt ‘n Pepa’s “Let’s Talk About Sex”

It may not look like much, but that's only about a quarter of my stash....

 

I’ve been thinking about my stash a lot lately. Maybe it’s because the rat party (no, not Ratt party, ’cause that might be awesome) going on in the walls at night has driven us from our cozy bedroom into the guest room, or Yarn Room as R. Darling likes to call it. Sleeping in the Yarn Room for the last week has brought me face to face with the excesses of my fibery addiction. (If you are R. Darling, skip this part and start reading again at the end) Surrounded on all sides by boxes and bags of yarn, while the stuff of dreams for me, could be a nightmare when thought of in terms of money spent, and ultimately, wasted. It makes my tummy ache just a little. Each night, threading my way through boxes of yarn I mostly can’t remember buying, brings me one step closer to wondering why I can’t control myself in the face of new, “better” yarn, whenever I go to the LYS or click across the intrawebs. I’ve been pondering my “problem” for a while now and with all the crap we’ve been dealing with lately (I’ll spare you the gory details other than to say, it’s the type of anxiety that even knitting can’t make better), it’s become evident that I should stay as far away as possible from yarn I might be tempted to cheat on my stash with.

To keep me true to my wish, no my need, to work from stash lest I find myself homeless with 6 giant rubbermaid tubs of yarn to carry around in my homeless person shopping cart, I have made it my solemn task for 2009 to knit from my stash as much as possible. That’s not to say I won’t ever buy new yarn in 2009 – I mean, that’s why they make gift cards and birthdays! – but I’m going to make a solid effort to cool it. Like every addict, it helps to have the company of others with like-mined goals. With special thanks to Amy for the links, I’ve joined the Stash Knit Down 2009 group on Ravelry, and checked in with the Queue Knit Down & Personal Sock Club threads. Here’s to hoping they can help me stay cheat-on-my-stash-free in the upcoming year!

 

And with that, I’ll leave you with one more retro flashback that I’ll bet you won’t be able to quit humming all day (you know you want to!):

Stash Stash Baby

dun dun dun dun duh-duh dun dun

What’s in your stash stash baby

dun dun dun dun duh-duh dun dun*

*sing to the tune of Vanilla Ice’s “Ice Ice Baby” – don’t even fake like you don’t know that one….

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BTW: My computer seems to be having a little retro flashback of its own with speeds to rival the dial-up days. Needless to say, using the intrawebs, e-mail, or pretty much opening and closing anything on my computer is about as painful as driving hot nails into my eyes lately. So if you don’t hear from me as much, it’s only because I don’t have 2 hours to wrestle with my computer at the moment, but I promise I’ll get back to you. Eventually. Someday. Maybe by 2010. But I will ;)

 

Warm Woolies Wednesday (The First In A Long Time!)…..

It’s a beautiful October evening out; fiery foliage, crisp air, golden twilight.  Anything could happen on a day like today.  The hush of evening finds me curled up inside the nest of my house and I love that there’s no pressure to be outside watering the garden, weeding, or doing anything other than what I’m doing right now.  How I love autumn!  I’m just finding it hard to believe that October is coming to a close in just one short week.  Where does the time go?  And where can I get more of it?

Speaking of disappearing time, I took a look back and it seems that my last Warm Woolies update was before my trip to Oregon in early September.  Yikes!  That seems so long ago!  And I guess it really is.  Things have happened, things haven’t happened.  But one thing remains the same:  I’m still knitting for Warm Woolies whether I’ve been talking about it or not. 

 

"Lemon Zinger"

 
A while ago I joined a Ravelry group called Warm Woolies Baby Oddball Blankets, in which members each knit a portion of a baby blanket that is then sent on to Warm Woolies.  It sounded like lots of fun and a great way to use up the random acrylic that I have floating around the house.  Just before I left on my Oregon trip I received my first blankie called “Lemon Zinger”.  Dutifully, I brought it with me on my trip and completed my 6″ portion the first two days I was away.  Even though I’m not knitting these blankies all by myself, I am still contributing to a finished item so I’m counting them in my total :)  I’ve got another one waiting in the wings for me right now and guess what?  It’s called “Pretty In Pink”!  Can’t wait to start that one!  Surprise, surprise.

A couple weeks ago I mailed off another package to Warm Woolies containing 11 items (2 vests, 5 hats & 4 pairs of socks).  Usually they are pretty prompt about sending a postcard to let you know that they’ve received your items, but I haven’t gotten one yet and I’m starting to worry a little.  So I’m going to have to dig out the receipt with the confirmation info and see if I can track it down.  I have another box waiting to go that has 14 pairs of socks in it right now, bringing my total for the year up to 60 items.  Not very near my goal of 100 but I’m feeling, at this point, that if I reach 80 by the end of the year that that will be pretty darn good.  I feel bad crapping out like that, but even though I won’t likely reach 100 I will still be knitting until the end no matter what.  Hopefully an “A” for effort counts for something in the good karma bank!

I’ve also had 2 lovely Warm Woolies related packages over the last couple months.  I returned home from Oregon to find my prize package from Warm Woolies in my held mail.  It was so exciting to open it up and see what they’d sent me!  Though I don’t knit to receive anything in return, it was still fun to have a little treat arrive from them :)  I guess since I knit them so many socks they figured out that I like socks and sent me tons of sock yarn (6 hanks!).  I have no idea what I’ll make with any of it, but it’s fun to add to the stash!  Take a peek……

Lots-n-lotsa sock yarn!

 
The yellow stuff is about 1600 yds of pale yellow laceweight wool (generically labeled).  Anyone have any ideas about what to make out of it?  I don’t do shawls, but I would consider a stole I guess if it was pretty enough.

My second package came just a few days ago from my blogfree (but soon to be Ravelite?) friend Kathy.  What a lovely box filled with piles of yarn for Warm Woolies from her stash (time to clean up I guess ;)  and a few interesting books as well as a lovely ball of sock yarn for my birthday.  Thanks so much Kathy!!  I will be sure to post pics of my WW items as soon as I have the chance to dive into it, and I appreciate so much your thoughtfulness and generosity!

Had enough?  Whew!  I think I have :)  Hopefully the next update will be a little more brief so you, and I, can spend a little less time reading and a little more time curled up in our respective cozy nests knitting!

 

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P.S. ~ WordPress is being a little b-hotch tonight so I’m afraid the formatting in my post looks funny and is going to stay that way.  It’s bugging the crap out of me but I’m too tired to keep fighting with it.  Better luck next time!

 

Stuff From All Over

My computer is angry.  I’ve used up all my expletives and it still persists in taking its sweet ass time doing whatever it is that I’m trying to get it to do.  More often than not it just gives up and crashes.  Needless to say, blogging has been painful.  Don’t tell my computer, but I think we’re going to break up soon.  I can’t stand all this drama.  I need someone more sensible and reliable and it would help if he was handy with photo software too.  Maybe he’d even like traveling.  Can any of you hook me up?  I’m a cheap date and I’ve been known to play strip poker after only a couple drinks.

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So, last weekend was R. Darling’s seventh (and final!) marathon of the year in Portland, OR. We took the train down to Vancouver, WA and stayed with his sister and her boyfriend for the weekend.  The train ride, as always, was gloriously full of knitting.  Nothing too exciting though, just Warm Woolies socks since I am still bound and determined to work towards my goal despite the fact that I’m climbing uphill the whole way towards 100.

Saturday morning dawned dark and cold at 5 AM.  It had rained most of the night and the rain had kept me up with its burbling and pinging in the gutter, not to mention the strain of sleeping in an unknown bed.  Not a particularly auspicious beginning to race day.  But I got up anyway, feeling it was the right thing to do to cheer The Mister on for his final race of the year.  When that alarm went off though, I had to seriously think twice about actually getting out of bed. 

 

 

 

We got to the race, later than we had hoped, parked & made our way to the start line.  It was still dark as R. Darling made his way towards the first wave of runners lining up.  After I lost sight of him I walked around a bit and discovered that there were areas downtown where you could see the runners come past you on the course.  So I quickly made my way to several of the stops.  But as I didn’t know which wave he’d left in, I never caught him at any of those spots. By then I was cold and hungry so I tried to find a coffee shop that wasn’t jammed with runner friendlies and got something to eat.  Because it was so early in the morning there weren’t a whole lot of places open and the places that were open didn’t have much seating.  So I took myself to Portland’s “Living Room”, a big open brick courtyard, found a seat and knitted until a creepy guy sat on a bench behind me and I decided it was time to leave.

At this point I still had 3 hours left until R. Darling would be finishing.  So I walked around some more, it had started to rain by now and I was feeling cold, and finally found the stretch of street where the runners would be finishing up.  Not wanting to lose my spot, I perched on a brick wall and took out my knitting.  Now, my friend Troy told me before my last trip on the train to be prepared to have people ask about my knitting when I knit in public.  I’m guessing he gets asked a lot because he’s a male knitter.  But me, I’ve been asked about my knitting a grand total of 4 times, and at least one of those times was when I was with Troy so I’m sure the interest wasn’t really in my knitting.  So imagine my surprise when this sweet little 4 or 5 year old boy drug his grandma over to watch me as I knit my Warm Woolies sock.  He made sure that he sat as close to me as possible and kept asking me questions and telling me how cool my sock was.  Apparently, my sock was so freakin’ cool that the risk of wetting his pants was nothing in comparison to missing a nanosecond of the knitting process.  It was really very cute.

After that, I spent the rest of the morning freezing my ass off in the rain cheering for strangers.  But it was all worth it for the moment when Mr. Man came around the corner in his obscene yellow Marathon Maniacs jersey, caught sight of me, and ran over to high five me.  I couldn’t have been more proud of him at that moment!

 

 

After the race, we drove back to my SIL’s and took a long nap. And then, Sunday night, I finally got to meet Chris (hey girl!) and her husband!  We had dinner with them in Woodland, WA and got to chat about knitting and all sorts of other good stuff.  It was really cool to get to meet her after corresponding for so long and working on SKC stuff together as well as test knitting for her.  I went home with more secrety squirrel projects which I’ll tell you about just as soon as I can :)

 

 

Try to ignore the crazy eyes.  As I said, my computer’s being cranky so I wasn’t about to ask it to fix that for me.

Monday after the race we spent the morning visiting with my SIL which was great since we don’t see her very often.  She’s a knitter too, though she mostly sticks to scarves and hats.  I taught her the basics of knitting in the round while we were hanging out, since she’s been knitting her hats flat and then seaming up the back and confessed to hating that.  Having never knit a hat that way I can’t imagine why anyone would want to when knitting in the round is so easy.  I think she was excited at the prospect of knitting her boyfriend and herself bunches o’ beanies.

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So that brings you up to speed on some of the crap I’ve been up to.  I still haven’t told you about my Oregon trip in early September and I’ve got some knitting news to share too, but I figure today’s post was enough of my blabbage for one day :)  If you made it to here – whew! you’re a trooper! or just a torture junkie! – thanks for reading!  Hope everypeep had a great weekend and back with more soon! 

 

Anyone? Anyone?

O.k.  I’m feeling extra desperate, so here goes….. 

Any of you supa cool bloggy peeps out there interested in a sock yarn exchangey thingamawhutsit?  I need 2 more people to play along and I seem to be having some trouble finding takers.  To play, you’ll have to find 6 people of your own to pass the info on to and send out one ball of sock yarn, but if you do, you can get up to 36 balls of sock yarn for the price of one!  Sounds pretty good in theory.  Anyway, if I haven’t asked you already, it’s probably because I thought you didn’t knit socks, were too busy to play (Wendee!), lived internationally, or maybe didn’t even like me.  But if you think you might want to, send me an e-mail (my addy is in the sidebar over there on the right) and we’ll chat.  I’d love to be able to have you play!  Doesn’t it sound so great to get that much sock yarn in the mail???

 

Warm Woolies Wednesday

The heat has broken, the rain is tumbling down, and I’ve come to the realization that the time for outdoor photographs is slowly coming to a close.  Soon, it will be dark more hours than it is light, my garden will don its coat of winter dreams, and I will have to get more creative with when and how I photograph my craft.  Methinks it is time to bust out the book and do some studying.

 

Warm Woolies Items #36, #37, & #38

 

This week has been rough when it comes to my knitting.  My forearm, wrist and all the joints in my right hand are aching and knitting has become a bit painful.  I have no choice but to blame it on my Warm Woolies projects.  I think the repetitive motion required while knitting with bulky yarn on dpn’s is wreaking havoc on my right hand, and though it hurts and I worry I may be doing more harm than good, I persist.  How else will I even approach the goal I have set for myself this year?  I’m already dreadfully behind.

This week I did manage to complete 2 more full sets of small-ish sized socks and as of tonight, I am halfway through a large-ish sized set of socks that will bring my total up to 38.  The smaller socks are easier on me and faster to complete (i.e. more satisfying!) but I try to knit at least one large sized sock for every 3-4 small sized ones that I knit.  After all, big kids need socks too!  Once this large sized pair is finished I can go back to some small-ish sized ones which seem to be easier on my hands.  I’m trying to switch up projects too and not knit with bulky yarns as much, hoping that will give my joints a rest.  Perhaps a hand massage is in order……

Now where did I put that photography book?